We do the ornament thing. My husband and I started exchanging them when we were dating. Now the kids get them too. On the day that we put up our Christmas tree, we give them out so each person can put their special ornament on the tree for that year.

I know there's a thread for holiday gifts, but while reading it I thought I'd share what I did for my husband's 40th birthday. I scanned pictures of him from when he was little (didn't have many since his mom didn't take many pictures) and then all the way through the time I met him (which was 22 years ago) till the present and did a picture montage set to music. I used Adope Photoshop Elements 5.0 (but for the future would like a better program with more options if anyone has any suggestions).

I had to scan many of my pictures since we've been together since before the digital age. It was really hard choosing which pictures to use. The song I picked was only about 4 minutes long and I still ran over the time a little with a couple of pictures. Everything was in chronological order from the earliest age I had of him up until this year. And I added captions, dates, places, and special effects such as zoom in or out and dissolve, etc. I did a really good job if I do say so myself! It took over 4 days to complete and I had quite a few issues with saving and losing and redoing and wanting to pull my hair out. I finally got it done on the day of his birthday but the final result was worth the troubles.

My husband loved it and his family loved it too and everyone cried looking at the pictures from days past and the song choice was really good "100 Years" by Five For Fighting.

Sometimes the best gifts are the ones we can make instead of buy (although I did spend about $60 for the program since Windows Movie Maker kept freezing up on me and I had to give up on using it. I think I had too many pictures and the program couldn't handle it.)

I remember when me and my now ex-hubbie went to the house of the photographer who was going to take our wedding pictures. We were there at Christmas time and I was admiring his Christmas tree. He gave us a wonderful piece of advice....with his daughter, he bought her one of those Hallmark Christmas ornaments every year that are already dated with the year and that's what his tree was decorated with. When she gets married he was going to give her those ornaments to decorate her tree. Well even tho my marriage didn't last, that piece of advice stuck with me. Every year I have bought my son a Christmas ornament..one that reminds me of his fave toy at that particular time or something that he likes. He's 13 now and every Christmas he enjoys putting those ornaments on his own tree he has in his room.

My parents did a variation on this for my sister and I growing up. Each year, they'd take us to the store to pick out one ornament. If we picked ones that didn't have the date, my dad would write it on the ornament, along with our name. The full collection really is a good illustration of how we grew up - favorite toys, interests, etc. The funniest thing about mine is that once I hit the materialistic teen years, all of mine are mechanical light up ornaments. When my sister and I were grown and living on our own, my mom pulled out each of our ornaments and gave them to us for our trees. My sister is now doing the same thing with my nephew. Even his first Christmas, when he was only 5 months old, she took him to the store and bought the first ornament he grabbed.

My sister does another neat ornament tradition - everywhere she and her husband go on vacation, she buys a Christmas ornament that represents that place. I was surprised, but even in the middle of July, you can usually find region-specific ornaments in gift shops. They're easy to pack and travel home with, and they get a reminder of places they've been each year when they put up their tree.

My parents did a variation on this for my sister and I growing up. Each year, they'd take us to the store to pick out one ornament. If we picked ones that didn't have the date, my dad would write it on the ornament, along with our name. The full collection really is a good illustration of how we grew up - favorite toys, interests, etc. The funniest thing about mine is that once I hit the materialistic teen years, all of mine are mechanical light up ornaments. When my sister and I were grown and living on our own, my mom pulled out each of our ornaments and gave them to us for our trees. My sister is now doing the same thing with my nephew. Even his first Christmas, when he was only 5 months old, she took him to the store and bought the first ornament he grabbed.

My sister does another neat ornament tradition - everywhere she and her husband go on vacation, she buys a Christmas ornament that represents that place. I was surprised, but even in the middle of July, you can usually find region-specific ornaments in gift shops. They're easy to pack and travel home with, and they get a reminder of places they've been each year when they put up their tree.

I've also started doing this in the last 6 or 7 years......its always fun when you pull out the ornaments and you're like "Oh remember when we were in ______ and we bought this or such and such happened".........I love it!!!

Re: Great presents for special occasions

I'm stumped. My aunt and uncle who are actually more like grandparents to me are celebrating their 60th wedding anniversary next week. We're having a special party for them on Thursday and I still don't have a gift. The 60th is supposed to be diamond. Their children are giving them jewelry so that's out. Besides, diamonds aren't exactly affordable for me. I've shopped and shopped and although I'm not opposed to shopping , I've found nothing. So, any suggestions?

Re: Great presents for special occasions

Originally Posted by lildago;3003795;

I'm stumped. My aunt and uncle who are actually more like grandparents to me are celebrating their 60th wedding anniversary next week. We're having a special party for them on Thursday and I still don't have a gift. The 60th is supposed to be diamond. Their children are giving them jewelry so that's out. Besides, diamonds aren't exactly affordable for me. I've shopped and shopped and although I'm not opposed to shopping , I've found nothing. So, any suggestions?

I always like meaningful gifts for these occasions. do you have a photograph of them that is special to you? Maybe you could have a copy made and buy a really nice frame for it and write them a note about why it's so special to you?
One thing my grandmother received on her 80th birthday that I now treasure is a glass Christmas ornament with her name and birthday etched on it. It hangs on my tree now that she is gone.

Do you have a Things Remembered store near you? They have nice gifts that can be engraved, like picture frames and other things.

Re: Great presents for special occasions

Do you have a Things Remembered store near you? They have nice gifts that can be engraved, like picture frames and other things.

I looked there actually and couldn't find anything I was happy with. Well, not for them anyway. I found a few things to add to my wish list.

I googled around and found that there's a rose bush called Diamond Anniversary. So, I went to a local nursery and they didn't know what I was talking about. The guy called around for me to some other places and no one else had it. I ended up buying a fig tree. My uncle had one before he moved here 8 months ago and has mentioned several times how much he misses it. Not a traditional anniversary gift, but I think they'll be pleased. And I'll benefit from the homemade fig cookies my aunt makes.